ghostlyinternational

Get ready for a slew of namedropping. Dabrye's superb one/three is so unique and original in its combination of familiar elements that, while it doesn't quite reach the pinnacle of, say, DJ Shadow's debut release, it still transcends a whole lot of the derivative slop that's been populating the realm of so-called experimental hiphop lately.

The album's first track opens with beats that sound nicked from something dreamed up by Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio, overlaid by a synthetic horn seemingly drawn from the same elements that Jeremy Dauber's Synthetic Dance Music for Couples on Plug Research explored. This segues nicely into a collection of abstract glitchy tones that might as well have been ripped from any Oval release of late. The entire album, however, has a general tone that fans of Scott Herren's Prefuse 73 project will immediately find favor with. It should come as no surprise that the artist has been signed to Herren's new label.

Hiphop as filtered through the lens of contemporary electronic technology, one/three takes elements you may have heard on acid jazz records in the nineties, and applies a dose of DJ Krush's abrasive Kakusei overdubbed with synthetic movements that recall the looped warmth of the Artificial Intelligence sound. There's even a few stabs of electro-tinged basslines and Barry White-styled vocal growls to further complicate things.

The most delightful thing about all the variation in referents, however, is that the album as a whole sounds so remarkably cohesive. An excellent release, and highly recommended.